System & Segmentation

GetResponse uses a tag and custom-field based system for subscriber management.

In case you’re wondering what the difference between those are in regards to this tool specifically, GetResponse clears it up nicely:

The first thing I did was head into my contacts to see if I could manually add these values. It turns out, you can.

Using automation workflows, it was easy to create behavioral-based rules for tagging, which is ultimately where the real power of this system lies.

For example, you can create a simple ‘trigger and action’ workflow to add tags to specific subscribers, such as those who clicked a link in one of your emails.

And then, in a completely new automation workflow, you can take advantage of tags using conditions.

Obviously, this is a very basic example, but hopefully you can see why tags are such a crucial part of automations. (And don’t worry, I’ll dive into automations specifically in a moment.)

Finally, I need to touch on something called, ‘web-event tracking’ – which, after installing a snippet of code, allows GetResponse to track how your visitors interact with your website.

This opens up a whole new world of dynamic tagging. An example of this being when a subscriber visits a specific page on your site.

Again, this is just one example, but I’m sure you can see just how powerful this system can be when you begin to implement dynamically added tags.

Verdict

Aside from not being able to use manual tagging, GetResponse really puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to subscriber management and targeting.

Automation

I talked a bit about automation in the last section, but, as I’m sure you know, solid marketing automation isn’t solely reliant on tags.

For starters, let’s talk about the automations workflow builder. The environment you’re likely to spend a fair bit of time in if you decide to use GetResponse.

So, all your “elements” or building blocks are stored in the right pane, and while there aren’t quite as many as ActiveCampaign or Drip has, it’s still relatively strong here.

Connecting elements together is a case of dragging elements into the workflow area, then dragging the points from one block to another.

To be honest, I did find this process a little frustrating at times (e.g. changing connections around can get a bit messy), but you do get the hang of it eventually.

If I had to deduct points for anything, it’d have to on the basis of creating emails from within the automations builder. Reason being, you can’t.

Adding the “send message” block (yeah, that’s what they call emails), you’re only given the option to choose from existing emails, so you can’t create one on the fly.

As you can imagine, it really messes with your rhythm when you have to constantly leave the builder to create more emails. It’s just a bad user experience.

Verdict

Despite picking up on some minor user experience issues, I felt GetResponse checked off a lot of boxes when it came to their automations functionality.

A/B Testing

If I’ve been surprised by anything in this review series, it’s just how lacking the A/B testing capabilities are with popular email marketing tools.

The good news?

GetResponse is one the few that goes beyond basic subject and delivery time testing. Instead, you get to test actual email content against each other.

To get to the A/B testing environment, you have to check the option as you go through and create your email. Admittedly, it’s a little hard to spot.

As you progress, you’ll be able to select which kind of test to run.

In the example below, I chose to test email content and you can see just how straightforward this is to set up. (Note you can even add up to 5 variations. Awesome!)

Finally, you can configure some of the finer details and I absolutely LOVE how this is laid out.

Here, you drag the slider to select what portion of your subscribers will be subjects of the test, and how many will receive the winning variant — as well as a few other options.

Verdict

GetResponse really surprised me with it’s split-testing capabilities. Easily better than most other email marketing tools in this category.

Form Building

No email marketing tool is complete without a form builder, after all, it’s an essential piece of the puzzle when collecting emails.

GetResponse offers multiple options under the forms tab.

The wizard is a template-focused, step-by-step approach that would likely appeal to most users of the tool.

To start with, you can choose between a generous number of pre-design form templates for practically every use-case imaginable.

Clicking on any of those will take you to the form editor.

The editor takes more of a “drag n’ drop” approach, with guides to help you position and snap elements into place.

Customizing existing elements was also easy enough, and most of the styling was done through the sidebar.

Not bad, but what about form behaviour?

The forms you create in this wizard can be embedded anywhere on your site, but they are still just inline forms.

If you want things like exit-intent popups, fixed-header forms or animated overlays, you’ll need to use a “List Builder App”, instead.

Unfortunately, there was no way to view these form template on a mobile display, at east not from within the editor itself — unlike with email templates.

I managed to use my browser to test it anyway:

Strangely, they appeared very small in the center of the page, rather than adapting to the screen dimensions.

Finally, you can create a form from scratch using HTML.

This is a little more advanced and not something I see most people using, but it’s there if you like to get your hands dirty.

Verdict

The template selection and standard form editor aren’t too shabby, but it quickly feels limited when you start throwing popups and form behaviours into the mix.

If you’ve been caught up in the page builder hype, it’s likely you’re using something like Thrive Architect or LeadPages. If that’s the case, these issues won’t be relevant to you anyway.

Email Templates

GetResponse comes packed with around 200 pre-designed email templates across various industries.

These are just a few:

Granted, not all of them are sexy AF, but you’ll definitely find some gems hidden amongst the pile.

Clicking on any of these templates will open the editor.

It’s not terrible and I was able to make a number of modifications without any fuss, but it could be more intuitive.

I mean, do you immediately know what all these buttons do without having to test them? I didn’t.

One thing I really liked, however, was the inclusion of an interactive responsive view.

It sits on the right side of the screen, and updates in real-time as you change your template design.

With the majority of people now browsing the internet (and their emails) via mobile devices, I don’t need to tell you how important this is.

Verdict

The template editor could do with some love, but coupled with the vast template library and mobile responsive view, I have to give credit where due.

Integrations

GetResponse integrates with 178 different apps and services, including Shopify, PayPal, Woocommerce and Zoho.

How does this compare to other email marketing providers?

In terms of sheer numbers, it doesn’t compete with the likes of MailChimp, which offers around 700 possible integrations…

…but it’s certainly better than some of the newer solutions *cough*ConvertKit, with around 70 possible integrations.

It’s also worth noting that GetResponse is supported by Zapier, effectively opening the door to a number of other integrations.

Verdict

Unless your current setup relies on some obscure applications and services, it’s highly likely that GetResponse will offer sufficient integrations.

If you’re not sure, it’s always recommended you check their list of integrations before subscribing to the service.

Tracking & Reporting

Setting up tracking for emails is done right before you create and send, using the ‘distribution settings’.

Here, you can enable click-tracking and Google Analytics.

While click-tracking is nothing you haven’t seen a dozen times before, the Google Analytics integration is a nice touch, allowing you to pass data through to the free analytics software with the flick of a switch.

GetResponse also comes with some interesting additions like real-time activity tracking and even ROI tracking — really pushing the limits compared to some other email marketing tools.

As for the reporting area, I was immediately turned off by the appearance of the user interface. It just feels old and outdated.

There also aren’t too many reports to sift through, aside from what you’d normally expect to see.

Compare all this to what Drip offers, for example, and you really start to see the limitations.

One of drip’s many detailed reports

Verdict

GetResponse has some nice tracking features that I’m sure plenty will find useful, but it may struggle to satisfy if you’re looking to really dig into the analytics of your email marketing campaigns.

Tracking & Reporting

Setting up tracking for emails is done right before you create and send, using the ‘distribution settings’.

Here, you can enable click-tracking and Google Analytics.

GetResponse support comes in a variety of forms, including tutorials, FAQs, webinars and downloads.

For most people, the knowledge base will be the first port of call, and you’ll almost always will find what you’re looking for there.

(Even if you do have to disable adblock before you can go through it. Weird, I know.)

Many of the results will provide a video walkthrough along with a transcript, which I always prefer to see, personally.

It’s fair to say the platform is well documented, and that’s kind of expected given how long GetResponse has been around.

Another factor to consider is community, and product-focused Facebook groups have become the go-to support channel for many in recent years.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any relevant groups for GetResponse.

A little strange given the size of it’s user-base, I must admit. (Let me know in the comments if I’m missing something here.)

For me, though, the real winner in terms of “support” is live chat. Nothing beats a fast and reliable chat service when you’ve hit a brick wall.

The good news is, GetResponse does offer live chat.

Even better, I got through to a chat agent within a couple of minutes, and they gave a well constructed answer to my question.

If all else fails, they also provide phone support during business hours.

Verdict

Aside from the lack of community—or my lack of ability to find it—I really can’t fault the support options available. Good stuff.

Testing Deliverability

One thing we really wanted to test with all the email marketing tools in this series was deliverability.

As you can imagine, this is quite a difficult thing to test and we spent a lot of time coming on with various ways to do it, but we eventually settled on two separate methods.

Run the same campaign across all tools and measure open rates

Use GlockApps to get a more instant, analytical result

I cover our exact process in more detail in the email marketing tools roundup review, so I recommend you check it out if you’re interested in the specifics of these tests.

The Results

From our own testing, GetResponse achieved a respectable open rate of 34.77% in the given time frame.

As for the GlockApps test, here’s a summary screenshot of how it performed in terms of email placement:

To give you a better picture of how this stacks up, I put together a table that shows and compares the results across all tools in this series.

Here’s what that looks like for GetResponse:

Tools

Open Rate

Inbox

Tabs

Spam

Missing

34.6%

65.7%

23.9%

9%

1.5%

30.10%

--

--

--

--

34.4%

89.6%

6%

1.5%

3%

39%

85.1%

1.5%

13.4%

0%

36.1%

91%

1.5%

7.5%

0%

34.77%

71.6%

4.5%

17.9%

4.5%

35.7%

84.8%

7.6%

6.1%

1.5%

Note: Aweber is missing some results because they repeatedly refused my import of the GlockApps seed list, meaning I was unable to run the test. Very frustrating to say the least.

Is GetResponse Right For You?

Now that I’ve covered all the different features and functions of GetResponse, weighing up the pros and cons and giving my experience along the way – let’s talk about YOU.

As with any tool, GetResponse isn’t going to be the right choice for everyone, so I’d like to get to the bottom of who exactly this email marketing tool is suitable for.

Budget Bloggers

If you’re looking for email marketing on a budget, you might just find what you’re looking for with GetResponse.

Let’s take a look at the numbers, based on the lowest-tier plan for common alternatives:

Tools

Free Plan

1,000 subs

10,000 subs

25,000 subs

50,000 subs

100,000 subs

No

$29 p/m

$139 p/m

$225 p/m

$299 p/m

$459 p/m

No

$29 p/m

$69 p/m

$149 p/m

$392 p/m

$792 p/m

No

$45 p/m

$95 p/m

$295 p/m

$335 p/m

$595 p/m

No

$29 p/m​​​​​

$119 p/m

$199 p/m

$379 p/m

$679 p/m

Yes

$49 p/m

$149 p/m

$254 p/m

$429 p/m

$779 p/m

No

$15 p/m

$65 p/m

$145 p/m

$250 p/m

$450 p/m

Yes

$15 p/m

$75 p/m

$150 p/m

$240 p/m

$475 p/m

As you can see, GetResponse is among the cheapest email marketing tools out there, at least on the low end of the subscriber count

In fact, GetResponse, along with MailChimp, is the cheapest option at 1,000 subscribers, making it a considerable option for those with smaller lists.

So, do I recommend it on a budget?

Well, it depends.

Even though GetResponse performed relatively well in my testing, overall, I didn’t find it THAT much better than MailChimp — which currently offers a very generous free plan.

If you’re looking for something that’s more tag-centric, and offers something a bit more in terms of automations, definitely give GetResponse a spin.

Otherwise, if those things don’t matter so much to you, you’ll probably better off with MailChimp’s free plan.

Beginner Bloggers

If you’re a beginner blogger, GetResponse definitely isn’t the worst option available to you.

It’s relatively easy to use in most places, but it didn’t scream simplicity in the way that some other tools have in this series.

For beginners, there are a couple of email marketing tools that are FAR more geared to your needs AND your experience level.

MailChimp is a great choice for beginners due to it’s clean and easy to navigate interface. (It’s also the one most will recommend to someone just starting out.)

As for me? I’d have to put ConvertKit as the single best option for newbies.

Sure, it lacks certain features that more experienced email marketers would likely feel, but it’s still very capable given how well streamlined and easy to use it is on the whole.

High-Level Marketers

Again, despite how well GetResponse has performed throughout this review, it’s hard for me to recommend it here.

Why?

Because as good as it is, it’s still not the best option for top-tier marketers when compared to the likes of ActiveCampaign.

As long as you can overcome the learning curve, you’ll quickly see that it’s a superior email marketing tool in virtually every category.

You can see a complete comparison of popular email marketing tools in my roundup review, right here.

Conclusion

GetResponse was one of the few tools in this series I knew very little about, which is ironic given how established it is in the market.

Surprisingly, I was ultimately won over by the raw capabilities of this email marketing tool, but at the same time couldn’t help but feel it’s age seeping through the cracks.

As it stands, GetResponse certainly holds it’s own against the competition and is undoubtedly one of the better tools on the market today. The results speak for themselves.

Unfortunately, however, there are very few scenarios where GetResponse is the obvious choice over tools like ActiveCampaign or Drip, especially as email marketing continues to evolve.

I’m Lewis, a full-time writer at Authority Hacker and a find-time writer at my own blog, The Freelance Effect. I'm also a digital nomad currently based in SE Asia. I have an unhealthy addiction to internet marketing, documentaries and chocolate. Mmmm… chocolate.